Central branch-off facility for pneumatic tube systems



Feb. 7, H967 F. BUCHWALD $302,904

CENTRAL BRANCH-OFF FACILITY FOR PNEUMATIC TUBE SYSTEMS Filed Sept. 8,1964 INVENTOR FRITZ [Bl/(HWALD BY (ix/7. -fx,

ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,302,904 CENTRAL BRANCH-UHF FAQILHTY FURPNEUMATIC TUBE SYSTEMS Fritz Buchwald, Berlin, Germany, assignor tointernational dtandard Electric Corporation, New York, Nib, acorporation of Delaware Filed Sept. 8, 1964, Ser. No. 394,867

Claims priority, application Germany, Sept. 1?, 1963,

St 21,093 6 Claims. (El. 243-429) This invention relates to pneumatictube systems, and, more particularly, to a central branch-off facilityfor the distributive transfer of pneumatic tube carriers betweendispatching tubes and receiving tubes.

Known central branch-off equipments require the use of pluralities ofguiding components arranged into two planes, one above the other,between the outlets of the dispatching tubes and the entrances of thereceiving tubes. In these equipments, the dispatching and receivingtubes are arranged in several rows, side-by-side, forming a system whichextends broadly in two coordinates.

The problems attending the known equipments are several; for one, thereis the gross and awkward dimension of said structures; as each of theplanes has several branches, the volume of these equipments isconsiderable. Another problem arises from the Complication of operationproceeding from the network of necessary control attachments andlinkages. Finally, the installation and the maintenance of saidstructures are burdensome, these structures havingas they doa greatnumber of operating components.

One object of the applicants invention, as disclosed herein, is toprovide a central branch-off facility which is greatly reduced in volumewith a particularly reduced length.

Another object of this invention is to provide a central branch-offfacility which requires very simple control mechanism althoughaccommodating broad plu'ralities of dispatching and receiving tubes.

A further object of this invention is to provide a central branch-offfacility which requires a very limited number of operating components.

A principal feature of the invention is the array, in two dimensions andin one plane, of all dispatching tubes addressed to the branch-otffacility, and the array of all receiving tubes, also in two dimensionsand in one plane, which convey the carriers outgoing therefrom, as wellas a simplified re-routing and re-directing of said carriers beingpassed between said dispatching and receiving tubes. In this, carriersare laterally re-directed along one plane, and then re-directed along aplane which bisects the first plane.

Another feature of the invention is the pivotal mounting of two guidingcomponents, between the dispatching and receiving tubes, so that eachcomponent is made to swing in an are perpendicular to the other, and theprovision of simple guiding control mechanism therefor.

The above-mentioned and other features and objects of this inventionwill become more apparent by reference to the following descriptiontaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, which is a schematicperspective view, representing a preferred embodiment of the inventionfor a central branch-off facility.

In the preferred embodiment here illustrated, the branch-off facilityhas two guiding components l and 2, one positioned immediately above theother, and each mounted within a casing 3. Said casing is rectilinear incross-section, fully closed about the sides, which sides are parallel bypairs, and can either be open-ended at top and bottom, or have plates attop and bottom-with respective apertures 4 and 5 arrayed in twodimensions ice in the plates for the connection, respectively, ofdispatching and receiving tubes. The upper guiding component 1,rectilinear in cross-section, is a funnel-shaped member with the Wideopening at the top and the narrow neck 6 at the bottom. The lowerguiding component 2, also rectilinear in cross-section, has parallelsides; it is formed as a multiple-channel guide, having a plurality ofthroughigoing channels 7, 8, 9 placed side-by-side, describing generallyvertical paths from top to bottom. Each channel is distinct from theothers, each being closed about the sides, while each is of the samedimensions as any of the others. Each channel has an opening at the topand an opening at the bottom. Said top and bottom openings are identicalin shape and dimensions to the shape and dimensions of the narrow neck 6of the upper guiding component. The width and length of the opening atthe top of the upper guiding component 1 encompasses the total area ofthe outlet array of dispatching tubes to be accommodated.

Guiding components 1 and 2 are mounted on pivoting means 10 and ill,respectively, which have control levers I2 and 13, respectively,extending therefrom. Each pivot ing means is rigidly secured to theextremities of the top of its respective guiding component and pivots atthe point of mounting in the casing. Thus, the bottom of each guidingcomponent can swing in an arc. The guiding components are mounted sothat their widths are perpendicular to each other, and the pivotingmeans are pivoted at points of juncture with the walls of the casing sothat each guiding component can swing in an arc perpendicular to theother. The plane of the are described in the swing of one guidingcomponent is normal to the plane of the are described in the swing ofthe other guiding component. Each control lever, 12 and 13, is parallelto the pivoting arc of its respective guiding component (IL and 2).

Each control lever, 12 and 113, is connected to resilient means (notshown) so that each is normally held in a center position and itscorresponding guiding component, I and 2, is held, resiliently, in acenter position.

The operation of the central branch-off facility is now explained, withreference to the drawing. Assuming a carrier to be distributivelytransferred is conveyed by a given dispatching tube, of a plurality ofdispatching tubes, to casing 3. Said given dispatching tube will beassumed to be connected with aperture 14 and requires distributivetransfer of its input carrier to aperture 15. The carrier passes throughaperture 14 into the opening at the top of the upper guiding component Iand down to the narrow neck 6 of the upper guiding component 1. Byapplying an external force to control lever 12, to pivot the lever in aclockwise direction, the narrow neck 6 of the upper guiding component lis positioned directly above throughgoing channel 7. The lever 13 isshown pivoted in a clockwise direction which positions the opening atthe bottom of channel 7 directly above aperture 15. Thus, the carrierpasses from the narrow neck 6 of the upper guiding component 1 throughchannel 7 into aperture l5 whereat a receiving tube, being one of aplurality of receiving tubes which can be connected to apertures 5 canreceive the carrier. It can be seen that, by pivoting levers l2 and 13in counterclockwise directions, a carrier conveyed to aperture 14- canbe distributively transferred to aperture lid; in fact, an input at anyone of apertures can be transferred to any one of apertures 5 by theselective orientation of guiding components 1 and 2. Any dispatchingtube, then, connected to any one of apertures 4 can be addressed to anyreceiving tube connected to any one of apertures 5.

While I have described the principles of my invention in connection witha specific embodiment, it is to be ddhldlli escapes 3 clearly understoodthat this description is made only by way of example. Other embodimentsare possible; for example the casing 1 may be dispensed with and theoutlets of the plurality of dispatching tubes can be positioned abovethe opening at the top of the upper guiding component 1. A plurality ofreceiving tubes can be positioned below the bottom openings of thethroughgoing channels 7, 8 and 9 of the lower guiding component 2,arrayed along the are described by the swing of said lower guidingcomponent. Therefore, the described embodiment is not a limitation tothe scope of my invention, as set forth in the accompanying claims.

I claim:

1. A central branch-01f facility for pneumatic tube systems forreceiving carriers from dispatching tubes having the exit ports of saidtubes distributed in two dimensions and for selectively feeding saidcarriers to receiving tubes having their input ports also distributed intwo dimensions, comprising:

a first means for receiving said carriers from said dispatching tubesand selectively distributing them among output locations arrayed along aline oriented in a first direction, said first means having the generalshape of a truncated pyramid and being pivoted about an axissubstantially normal to said line;

a second means cooperating with said first means and having a pluraltiyof input points corresponding to said respective output locations ofsaid first means, said second means being adapted for receiving andredirecting said carriers to an output point chosen from a plurality ofoutput points arrayed along a line oriented in a second direction whichis normal to said first direction, to distribute said carriers to outputpoints along said line in said second direction; and

output means cooperating with said second means and comprising saidreceiving tubes, including the receiving tube to which the carrier is ineach case to be delivered.

2. A central branch-off facility, according to claim 1,

wherein:

said first and second means comprise guiding means interposed betweensaid dispatching tubes and said receiving tubes, said guiding meanshaving two cooperating guiding components each with respective pivotingmeans.

3. A central branch-off facility, according to claim 2,

wherein:

said guiding components are mounted one immediately above the other; and

each said pivoting means pivotally mounts its respective guidingcomponent at the extremity of the top of its guiding component, and hasa control lever extending from each guiding component at the point ofsaid pivot.

4. A central branch-off facility for pneumatic tube systems forreceiving carriers from dispatching tubes having the exit ports of saidtube distributed in two dimensions and for selectively feeding saidcarriers to receiving tubes having their input ports also distributed intwo dimensions, comprising:

a casing having input and output apertures formed in either end thereof,said apertures arranged in rows and columns, to accept said dispatchingtubes and said receiving tubes thereat, respectively;

not more than two pivotable guides, positioned between said input andoutput apertures;

first means, including one of said guides, to selectively dire-ct saidcarriers from said input apertures to any single row of said outputapertures; and second means, including the other of said guides toselectively direct said carriers to any single column of said outputapertures.

5. A central branch-off facility, according to claim 4,

wherein:

said pivotable guides are mounted on axes perpendicular to each other.

6. A central branch-off facility for pneumatic tube systems forselective distributive transfer of carriers from any one of a pluralityof dispatching tubes to any one of a plurality of receiving tubes,comprising:

a casing having a first plurality of apertures for the input connectionof said plurality of dispatching tubes and a second plurality ofapertures for the output connection of said plurality of receivingtubes;

an upper guiding component, pivotally mounted in said casing, to providea first direction to said carriers;

a lower guiding component, pivotally mounted in said casing, to providea second direction to said carriers;

said upper guiding component being positioned in immediately proximaterelationship to said first plurality of apertures at one end and to saidlower guiding component at the other end;

said lower guiding component being positioned in immediately proximaterelationship to said upper guiding component at one end and to saidsecond plurality of apertures at the other end; and

control means to pivotally reorient said upper and lower guidingcomponents to impart said first and second directions to said carriers,said carriers being caused to pass serially through both said upper andlower guiding components to accomplish said selective distributivetransfer thereof between a given one of said plurality of dispatchingtubes and a selected one of said plurality of receiving tubes, wherein:

said upper guiding component is rectilinear in crosssection and isfunnel-shaped, having a wide opening at the top and a narrow opening atthe bottom;

said lower guiding component is rectilinear in cross section, havingsides which are parallel with a plurality of throughgoing channels, eachdistinct from the others, placed side by-side describing generallyvertical paths from top to bottom, each channel of said plurality beingclosed about the sides and having an opening at the top and the bottom;and

said narrow opening of said upper guiding component being substantiallyidentical in shape and dimensions to the shape and dimensions of saidtop and bottom openings of said channels.

References Cited by the Examiner FOREIGN PATENTS 9/1938 Germany. 2/1939Germany.

1. A CENTRAL BRANCH-OFF FACILITY FOR PNEUMATIC TUBE SYSTEMS FORRECEIVING CARRIERS FROM DISPATCHING TUBES HAVING THE EXIT PORTS OF SAIDTUBES DISTRIBUTED IN TWO DIMENSIONS AND FOR SELECTIVELY FEEDING SAIDCARRIERS TO RECEIVING TUBES HAVING THEIR INPUT PORTS ALSO DISTRIBUTED INTWO DIMENSIONS, COMPRISING: A FIRST MEANS FOR RECEIVING SAID CARRIERSFROM SAID DISPATCHING TUBES AND SELECTIVELY DISTRIBUTING THEM AMONGOUTPUT LOCATIONS ARRAYED ALONG A LINE ORIENTED IN A FIRST DIRECTION,SAID FIRST MEANS HAVING THE GENERAL SHAPE OF A TRUNCATED PYRAMID ANDBEING PIVOTED ABOUT AN AXIS SUBSTANTIALLY NORMAL TO SAID LINE; A SECONDMEANS COOPERATING WITH SAID FIRST MEANS AND HAVING A PLURALITY OF INPUTPOINTS CORRESPONDING TO SAID RESPECTIVE OUTPUT LOCATIONS OF SAID FIRSTMEANS, SAID SECOND MEANS BEING ADAPTED FOR RECEIVING AND REDIRECTINGSAID CARRIERS TO AN OUTPUT POINT CHOSEN FROM A PLURALITY OF OUTPUTPOINTS ARRAYED ALONG A LINE ORIENTED IN A SECOND DIRECTION WHICH ISNORMAL TO SAID FIRST DIRECTION, TO DISTRIBUTE SAID CARRIERS TO OUTPUTPOINTS ALONG SAID LINE IN SAID SECOND DIRECTION; AND OUTPUT MEANSCOOPERATING WITH SAID SECOND MEANS AND COMPRISING SAID RECEIVING TUBES,INCLUDING THE RECEIVING TUBE TO WHICH THE CARRIER IS IN EACH CASE TO BEDELIVERED.